SITE MAP -- KOREAN WAR PHOTO-DOCUMENTARY -- SITE MAP

"I believe we need to read the lessons closely lest we repeat, at inestimable cost, the mistakes for which we paid so dear a price."

General Matthew B. Ridgway on The Korean War (1967)

Leadership failure, haphazard disarmament, misguided training objectives, Intelligence failures ... all had disastrous consequences to our fighting forces in
the Korean War. Ridgway's careful analysis should give grave warning to us all today, as we withdraw our forces from the Middle East.

This site tries to provide insights into those bitter lessons with a comprehensive documention of that savage war through
dozens of complete documentary texts, over a thousand combat photos annotated by veterans, and detailed discussions of the infantry weapons
both sides took into battle.

CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTS

Appleman includes over 800 annotated photographs to give poignant insights into his detailed analysis of the fighting during those desperate months after
North Korea's massive onslaught on the South in June, 1950.

From that murderous invasion, through our initial crushing defeats and eventual crushing victories, until China's
brilliant ambush in September as our forces drove towards the Yalu, Appleman brings Fighting Divisions, Squads and individual
men to life by his accounts of their savage battles and almost-forgotten sacrifices.

Mossman's moving account begins with the vicious fighting upon China's opening ambushes of 8th Army and the Marines and 32nd RCT in the Chosin
Reservoir, and takes us through subsequent battles until a fairly stable resistance line could be formed across entire South Korea in July
1951. Over 130 annotated combat photographs help bring the warriors, and their ordeals and sacrifices, to life once again.

The book describes the strategic ebb and flow of the battle lines, from north of Pyongyang and across the Taebaek Mountains to below the South
Korean capitol of Seoul, and back north again until both sides ground to near exhaustion. As we study those events it becomes clear that, by
summer of 1951, our UN Armies were defeating China and North Korea. We had developed and demonstrated the ability and resolve to meet them
man to man, and relentlessly drive them north. Should no other crisis develop, should Russia not join in the fighting, or invade Western Europe,
or some other unpredictable disaster occur, the only uncertainty about the outcome was the death and suffering it would involve.

But ... what would be the point? The US and our UN allies had effectively driven the North back across the original borders. Our strategic goals
had been accomplished however debatable any actual victory. Further suffering seemed futile.

So, for political and rational considerations, the war
became static and Truce Talks began. Mossman ends his account at the beginning of this period.

The Truce Talks took two desperately frustrating and bloody years to finally bring about a simple Cease Fire, which still lasts today.

Hermes' analysis of the specific incidents and battles of those months, seemingly endless at the time, covers the last half of the war. About
half of the entire military casualties of the war occurred in this interval, and Hermes uses about 100 historical photos to help give an understanding
of the suffering they entailed, while describing the events of the final two years, July 1951-July 1953

A meticulous, yet fascinating, description of the painful closure of one of the most vicious wars in our nation's history.

PHOTO HISTORY

This Documentary brings to life the unnecessary tragedy of the Korean War.

It is a comprehensive Visual History,
organizing the War by its strategic combat phases, illustrating the struggles and suffering and valor through over a thousand annotated Combat Photos and
Maps.

Using thumbnails, it gives a visual overview, with each thumbnail linked to a page describing the photo's significance,
usually including still further visual insights and personal accounts of the particular events it displays.

The effect is compassionate insight into the entire struggle, giving respect and appreciation of the desperate actions and
sacrifices of the ordinary people involved, civilian as well as warriors, on all sides.

Primarily to minimize the possibility of escalation into another World War, both Communist and UN forces fought the Korean War
largely with surplus World War II weapons. This site outlines the infantry issue weapons for both sides of the conflict.

Each Weapon is linked to a page with photos and specifications. Most of those pages also include annotated photos which show the
weapons deployed in combat, and include many personal accounts by combat veterans. In most cases, these pages describe the weapon's relation to
other weapons, usually with links to pages of those other weapons showing how they were deployed, their strengths, and their shortcomings.

These honored few Medal of Honor recipients are here identified by name, a photo, and a copy of their citation. This is effected by a complete
list page, with each name linked to the specific information for each recipient.

Their commitment to their comrades in arms, their personal
determination, their often incredible heroism shine forever through those terse, unemotional official military accounts.

Overall, the United States military was not prepared to fight the vicious infantry war that was Korea. Our political leaders had assumed the existence
of nuclear weapons eliminated any effective deployment of ground forces such as was common before 1945. As a result, the quality and resolve of our
fighting men varied dramatically, primarily depending on differences in their training and their individual character. Still, as
always, there were those special few who are always prepared. And one other fact should never be forgotten: Those whose conduct
was distinguished by being awarded the Medal Of Honor also represent their many comrades in arms who sacrificed themselves in obscurity.

A wonderful, organized collection of annotated combat Photos and Personal Histories of Aussie Korean War Veterans

We, and South Korea, were definitely not alone in fighting for their freedom. I've been privileged to use this outstanding
historical collection to represent all our other Allies. None will be other than proud to be represented by such fine fighting men.

A good friend, Ron Cashman, 3rd Btn, Royal Australian Regiment, provided this pictorial account of how it was to fight in the
Infantry in the Korean War. Wounded three times and decorated for gallantry, Ron's Photo-Documentary of Two Years in the Trenches lets the
visitor browse sequentially through the battles, the rest areas, the violence and the boredom and see life and death as it actually was, so long ago.

Not a collection of old photos or tall tales, this site includes many of Ron's accounts of the battles he was in, as he saw
them. A compassionate, intelligent human being, Ron's work is invaluable reading for anyone wanting insight into the mind, courage and ordeals
of our finest warriors. If you've ever been there, you'll understand it all.

Organized by year, key individuals and battles linked to detailed accounts elsewhere, this is a concise yet informative sequential
arrangement of the principal events of the Korean War with links that permit continuous exploration of all related actions.

Two Short Stories of combat from over twenty I wrote during the War, plus a description of one day with an Air Force
AC&W Squadron as a civilian tech. (You may wish to pass on the first two, they were written in the language we used at the time.)

Written as fiction, based on fact, they try to add personal insight to the thousands of other pages explored above.

Before daylight on Sunday, June 25, 1950, Kim Il Sung, the North Korean Premier, hurled eight veteran Infantry divisions
South across the 38th parallel.

Led by 120 Soviet T34 medium tanks and extensive mobile artillery they quickly crushed the valiant South Korean defenders, and
butchered their way down the peninsula until stopped by United Nations forces at the Pusan Perimeter.

General MacArthur counter-attacked with our Marines at Inchon, far behind North Korean lines, routed them, and our Eighth Army
struck back across the parallel almost to the Yalu river and China.

But, in November 1950, China entered the war with a veteran army, already victorious in one of the most decisive battles in
history at Huai-Hai, in 1949 during their civil war. Our armies were ambushed and again driven deep back into South Korea.

Many of the United Nations fought at our side,
for example the British Commonwealth, France and Turkey. Our Chinese enemy was skillful, brave and resourceful. The cruel murder
of countless civilians and POWs will forever dishonor North Korea, but overall both sides fought well and courageously.

The battle-lines raged back and forth, but by mid-1951 settled roughly along the original Korean border, in about the same positions
the armies fought over for the next two years until the Cease-Fire.

The extensive photographic, technical and historical documentation offered by this site attempts to cover those events objectively, honestly, and in
comprehensive detail.

With respect to my comrades in arms, whose gallantry and sacrifice so long ago helped South Korea to be free today, I offer this Site.